OK here’s the long and short list, long as it’s quite a lot of films, short in that I expect it will get added to as this years festival approaches.
I have only listed the films I am seeing at LFF 2011 and have excluded any films that I have already seen at at other festivals this year, which include the Very Good: Steve McQueen’s Shame, Lynn Ramsey’s We Need to Talk About Kevin, Black, White and Silent crowd pleaser The Artist and The Dardenne Brother’s The Kid with a Bike. The Bad: Takishi Miike’s Hara-Kiri Death of a Samurai and Gus Van Sants’s Restless and the OK: Paolo Sorrentino’s This Must Be the Place, Markus Schleinzer’s Cannes competition entry Michael, Miranda July’s The Future. On the whole I’m also skipping on any films that are on general release in October.
Surprise film
The Iron Lady (UK release, 6th Jan 2012) would seem to be an obvious choice for the Surprise film but may not be ready in time. So the safe, even money favourite this year is probably Moneyball (25th Nov) staring Brad Pitt and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, although it’s baseball theme might not be the obvious choice for a London festival it otherwise ticks all the other boxes. Also high in the running I expect is The Rum Diary (4th Nov) staring Johnny Depp (both the Rum Diary and Moneyball already have a BBFC cert unlike most of the other films on this shortlist, although as far as I am aware a cert isn’t a requirement for any film showing at the festival). Given it’s numerous British connections My Week with Marilyn probably can’t be ruled out, although given the damp squids of the last two years (Michael Moore’s capitalism and Rowan Joffe’s Brighton Rock) you would all but hope that Sandron Hebron’s is going to pull something special out of the bag for her final year at the festival…
One of the big hits from both Sundance and Cannes this year. An “atmospheric story of a young woman recently escaped from a cult-like commune” as the programme blurb describes it. Been looking forward to this since missing it in Cannes, despite everyone telling me to go see it, I will listen next time.
This years Animal Kingdom? By all accounts an excellent, yet very dark and hard to watch dramatisation of Australia’s ’Bodies in the Barrels‘ murders (it may be best not to read the Wikipedia page first).
David Cronenburg’s latest based on Christopher Hampton 2002 stage play ,The Talking Cure. Vigo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender respectively play Freud and Jung.
“A young woman clinging on to her dream to become a beauty contest queen in a Mexico dominated by organized crime”. Miss Bala has been widely regarded as one of the highlights of this years Un Certain Regard.
There is only one screening of this at LFF. Which clashes with my already booked ticket for Snowtown. So will have to catch the press screening of it instead. The latest film from Nuri Bilge Ceylan, which charts the investigation of murder over 24hrs. Although like Ceylan’s previous films this isn’t going to be your standard detective on a murder case movie.
Werner Herzog’s new doc, a “powerful exploration of violence and its consequences, told through Death Row inmates and others close to their crimes” according to the LFF synopsis.
From Variety: “Set in 1982 Czechoslovakia, Radim Spacek’s “Walking Too Fast” is a slow-burn political thriller about a secret police lieutenant bucking the system. Comparisons to “The Lives of Others” are apt, although “Walking’s” thoroughly unsympathetic protagonist makes the film more admirable than likable.”
From the LFF programme “Philippe Torreton gives a superb performance in Vincent Garenq’s no-holds-barred docu-drama about a man unjustly accused in a notorious paedophilia trial.”. With Variety describing it as “Devastating drama about the greatest French judicial scandal in recent history.”
From Variety “Camera-scoured Manhattan wouldn’t seem to have many secrets left, but the extraordinarily beautiful “Restless City” achieves revelation on two tiers — in the kinetic landscape of the city itself and in the world of Senegalese immigrants, whose struggle evolves just beneath the sightlines of the average New Yorker.”. Hollywoood reporter calls ’Restless City’ a Stunning Look at New York’s West African Immigrant Community.
Fernando Meirelles’ multi stranded festival opener, has been panned by The Guardian and received less than enthusiastic reviews elsewhere. Still I quite enjoyed Babel by fellow Mexican, Alejandro González Iñárritu, which has a similar theme and was dismissed by critics, so hoping for an enjoyable if not particular deep start to this years festival with this one. Update: The commenters describing 360 as “Love Actually without the jokes” aren’t far off, a pretty poor opening night film.
The winner of best European film in the Cannes Directors Fortnight sidebar. The directorial debut of Austrian actor Karl Markovics, Breathing is described in the LFF programe an ‘assured, intelligent work’. The film follows Roman, an institutionalised young offender in Vienna, serving time for a violent crime with a surly, uncommunicative attitude, blankly accepting of the solitary conditions.
From the LFF blurb “Andrei Zvyagintsev’s award-winning account of a struggle over inheritance is accompanied by an effective score by Philip Glass.”. Screen comment’s “A late addition to Un Certain Regard, for which it is the closing night film, one can only wonder, why is this extraordinary film not in the main competition?“
Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s (who is awaiting a six-year jail sentence and a 20-year ban on making or directing any movies, writing screenplays, giving any form of interview with Iranian or foreign media as well as leaving the country) new film which according to the Guardian “was smuggled into the country on a USB stick buried inside a cake posted from Iran to Paris”.
Not the Tod Browning movie about an armless knife thrower, but a few of the largely unseen and distributor-less films picked out from the vast selection of European and World films in the LFF lineup.
The Forgiveness Of Blood
Maria Full of Grace director, Joshua Marston returns with an Albanian-set story of family caught up in a blood feud
From Variety A German postal worker’s precious few months between diagnosis and death are chronicled with an acute and raw sense of honesty in “Stopped on Track.”
From Variety “Based on a true story that happened in the U.S., “Girls” relates how the accidental pregnancy of an attractive teen leads to an epidemic of knocked-up peers.”
Mathieu Amalric’s latest “gives classic French theatre a twist by wittily updating Corneille’s play as a modern intrigue set in the CCTV present” according to the LFF synopsis.
“A rebellious teenager reacts against strictures of her local church and ends up on a bizarre errand to collect something out of town with the parish priest.”
From the LFF synopsis “Jean-Pierre Darroussin plays a banking executive driven off the rails in Jean-Marc Moutout’s incisive and angry indictment of the financial world.”. The main still instantly reminded me of Laurent Cantet’s Time Out whether that was an intentional decision I’m not sure but it’s certainly piqued my interest.
From the programme synopsis “A rookie journalist in 1969 falls under the spell of a charismatic student radical (Kenichi Matsuyama), only to realise that he’s capable of murder. Nobuhiro Yamashita and his cast recreate the political turmoil of the period with awesome credibility.”
It’s that’s time of year again and this is the list of screenings I have tickets for next month. A few, including Never Let me Go (excellent, but opening the week after the festival anyway) and Carlos I have already seen and so probably won’t be re-watching.
Black Swan
Darren Aronofsky’s psychological thriller starring Natalie Portman.
(update: obviously not Sophia Coppola’s Somewhere as it’s just been added to the main lineup). So maybe the more homegrown Brighton Rock (odds: even money) which screened at TIFF but which was missing the LFF programme, the excellent Australian crime drama Animal Kingdom (odds:6/1) although I hope not, given that I have already seen it, or if we’re really lucky the Coens with True Grit (odds:50/1) but given that it’s not been screened publicly yet it’s a bit of a long shot. Another outside contender, if it’s ready in time, is the Angelina Jolie/Johnny Depp film The Tourist (odds:20/1) from Lives of Others director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.
Probable could / should have waited for the general release on this one in November, otherwise what will I have left to watch come Christmas. But couldn’t wait..interested to see what Anton Corbijn has come up with given a bigger budget.
Having seen and loved both of Kelly Reichardt’s previous features, really looking forward to this one. Once again Jon Raymond has written the script and Michelle Williams stars.
Vincent Gallo on the run, in Jerzy Skolimowski’s (Deep End, The Shout and w/ Polanski, Knife in the Water) new film. Mixed reviews from Venice, with some praising it and others hating it. (update: now rather annoyingly clashing on the schedule with Somewhere and Michael Winterbottom’s The Trip).
When I looked at the press stills I thought Secret in Their Eyes, Nine Queens, maybe that’s lumping all Argentine thrillers together. But hey they were both good and this is from the director of Lions Den so guessed it was worth a shot.
You don’t often get to watch shorts on a proper cinema screen outside of festivals, so going to check out this selection of films programmed by Philip Ilson.
This is the ever growing list of films which I haven’t booked for yet but may take another look at closer to the festival, time allowing. My LFF accreditation has also just been confirmed, which means I might be able to catch a few of these at their press screenings over the coming fortnight (update: 29th September, have just watched Tom Hall’s Irish enjoyable and well acted wry comedy Sensation at a LFF press screening, short review coming soon).
Boxing Gym
Not only do we get a new Errol Morris doc, we get a new Fredrick Wiseman doc, sometimes have mixed feelings about Wisemans observational docs, if it’s not a subject your particularly interested in (although to be fair interesting people are innately interesting) they can seem to run a bit long. That said I’m not an huge boxing fan, but this doc set in an Austin, TX gym looks like it might be well worth a watch
Documentary tracing the causes of the 2008 financial meltdown. The problem with these kind of docs is often in their attempt to oversimplify the causes, with lots of talking heads giving their personal opinions but with no real depth. On the other hand I’m pretty sure I don’t want to sit though an economics lecture for an hour an a half. Reviews seem good though ,so may well be worth a look.
“Mum are you here? Because if you are you totally shouldn’t be watching Serbian movie” Tim Leauge of the Alamo / Fantastic Fest introduces the midnight screening of Serbian film at SXSW with a round of extreme tequila shots. First snort a line of salt, down a shot of Tequila “left behind by the Jack Ass boys” and finally squeeze a wedge of lime into your eye.
I met one of the participants at another screening later in the week, his comment on Serbian Film “Compared to watching that movie, squeezing a lime into my eye was painless”. I couldn’t have agreed more, although thankfully I didn’t squeeze a lime into my eye, then again maybe I should have, it might have made the movie more palatable.
Here is my LFF round-up in (a vaguely) descending order.
Un Prophète (imdb) ***** (seen prior to LFF)
The White Ribbon (imdb) **** (seen prior to LFF)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (imdb) ****
A Serious Man (imdb) ****
A Single Man (imdb) ****
Lebanon (imdb) ****
Precious (imdb) *** (seen prior to LFF)
Ajami (imdb) ***
Life During Wartime (imdb) ***
Father of My Children (imdb) ***
The Road (imdb) ***
Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans (imdb) ***
Tales from the Golden Age (imdb) *** (seen prior to LFF)
Polytechnique (imdb) *** (seen prior to LFF)
Double Hour (imdb) ** [need to revisit]
Micmacs à tire-larigot (imdb) **
Bunny and the Bull (imdb) ** (seen prior to LFF)
Disapearance of Alice Creed (imdb) **
Applause (imdb) **
Despite a few two stars I don’t think I saw a truly bad film this year. Listing them like this it’s obvious how useless a star rating system is. I really liked aspects of Applause, The Double Hour, Bunny and the Bull, Micmacs and Alice Creed but because as a whole, for me, they fell below say The Road or Ajami they got relegated to two stars each, but that’s not to say they we’re bad films, in fact they could probably all easily be moved up to three stars. A star rating will also never explain why Bad Lieutenant ended up where it did on the above list (in many ways it’s a two star film at best) and obviously it’s fairly broad stroke to group Haneke’s latest with Mr. Fox based on something as simplistic as a 1 to 5 rating system.
Sent off my booking form for this years LFF tickets at the weekend, so far have only booked tickets for films that are likely to sell out early, will leave the smaller films to later to see how my schedule is nearer to the dates. (update: got everything I wanted with the exception of the Up in the Air and Surprise film, probably pay back for me trying to guess it. Will try again when the next tranche of tickets is released)
So what am I going to see next month..
Galas
A Serious Man
New Coen brothers, great reviews from TIFF. I’m excited. Trailer here.
Fashion director Tom Ford’s directorial debut is getting great reviews and looks like a work of art, plus Julianne Moore sealed the deal for me. Trailer can be found here.
Grab your lucky crack pipe, the LFF have just (23rd Sept) added Werner Herzog’s re-imaging of Abel Ferrara’s 1992 film to the programme. This also puts pay to my initial second guess at the Surprise film.
My guess is Where the Wild Things Are, but that is based purely on guesswork, no inside knowledge or anything, failing that my moneys on Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant. (update: 25 Sept – Bad Lieutenant just added to main programme, wondering if was the backup film and has now been shifted to the main program with the confirmation of LFF’s first choice of film).
The films on the ‘book nearer to the date’ list, mainly compiled from films I want to watch but need to see how my schedule goes and a couple of complete unknowns that sound interesting for one reason or another.
Will also try and collate some existing reviews for these films in the run up to LFF mainly so I can quickly see what on this list really worth catching and which just have a good sounding synopsis and can probably be given a miss. Although based on previous years this list could equally grow as it could shrink. (update 23rd Sept – I gave in and booked half of them)
The Disappearance of Alice Creed(booked)
Twisty debut from British director J Blakeson. A three hander staring Gemma Arterton, Eddie Marsan and Martin Compston. Been hearing good things about this movie and want to see if it lives up the the hype.
Harmony Korine latest project looks totally out there crazy, kind of John Walters’ Pink Flamingos meets Lars von Trier’s The Idiots. It’s actually getting some positive reviews. The trailers 80′s analogue VHS video effects are great and the squealing laughter is just so wrong.
Danish film about a recovering alcoholic making her return to the stage as Martha in a production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Sounds a bit like a Danish version of Cassavetes’ Opening Night.
Another documentary, this time a Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner, which focuses on the (little known to me anyway) story of internet pioneer John Harris and his turn of the millennium ‘art experiment’ which involved cramming hundreds of artists into a New York bunker, and filming the results.
Given how much I though I was going to love this film. I did end up having slight issues with it in terms of the ‘middle class teacher attempts to get girl out of the gutter’ central story, the dream sequences that just seemed to sit at odd with the rest of the film and at times it felt like the director just didn’t know when to hold back on ramping up the drama to a such point that any realism the film had constructed was instantly lost. All that said it’s extremely well acted and certainly worth a watch.
A let down if your expecting “Mighty Boosh the Movie” but still contains enough imagination, quirkiness and inventiveness to make it well worth a watch.
Wondering why Corneliu Porumboiu’s, highly praised at both Cannes and TIFF, Police, Adjective didn’t make it into the London Film Festival?
Vue and splitting screenings over two screens
I was going to save my full rant about Gala and Film on the Square screenings being split over two separate 400 seat multiplex screens till another post (but it slipped out here). I know the LFF is hard pressed for cash (although as my credit card statement for tickets to this years festival shows I am doing my bit to help). I know the Vue deal was signed before they knew the OWE was still going to be around and I know the LFF team are a bunch of cinema lovers who must have tried hard to avoid this situation. So my criticism is less directed at the LFF/BFI rather than the wider powers that be in this country for letting this happen. It may sound cliché to say but “Can you imagine this happening in France or Italy?” the truth is I couldn’t; of course the French already have a nice architectural eyesore meets concrete bunker to hold theirs in.
But really if your going to split a screening over two mid sized screens at a multiplex can you still call it a Gala screening? Could not all the Gala’s have be held at the Odeon Leicester Square? Realise that’s not LFF decision and that the Odeon is a commercial organisation with shareholders, but given the profits the Odeon chain make from cinema in the UK per year it wouldn’t have seemed too much to ask that they offer up their flagship screen for more than the opening, closing night and two other additional nights. It just seems embarrassing that the flagship film festival in the UK is reduced to using a couple of multiplex screens for it’s Gala screenings. Not that I was holding my breath that Boris was going to step in to help the situation, although I’m sure he’ll turn up at the start of Bright Star and ramble on about how fantastic it is to be standing here (in a 400 seat multiplex cinema) and how he wants to support the festival and help UK filmmakers by introducing some token scheme. I hope I’m proved wrong and he actually turns up to announce that his awarding the BFI funds to build their long awaited new home on the Southbank. (Update: I eat my words BFI National Film Centre gets the green light : Congratulations to the BFI)
In terms of the Q&A’s at the Films on the Square and Special screenings, let face it, for all the talk about attempting to have multiple Q&A, it’s going to end up with a quick introduction before the film in both screens and a bit of pot luck as to which screen gets a proper Q&A or are we just going to end up with a couple of questions per screen. I know at many festivals you don’t get a Q&A at all but LFF always did so well here and it just seems such a shame to reduce them to simple introductions. The festival is a month away so I may be proved wrong, lets wait and see. On the plus side at least Vue has decent sight lines of the screen.
Sorry that was meant to be a brief footnote, you can tell I’m already peeved.
Watched Hanke’s new film the White Ribbon at the Lumiere today and Christian Berger’s stunning black and white cinematography just looked amazing on that huge screen. I still need to let it sink in and probably give it another viewing once it’s released, it’s certainly a impressive film – but at two and a half hours it requires being in the right frame of mind to watch it. Not going to write up a review of it now but I’m giving it a (4 out of 5) mark.
Also caught Alain Resnais new film Wild Grass which Screen and Time Out absolutely loved, admittedly it was amazingly acted and brilliant shot but I just didn’t see what the fuss was about, in fact I’d be inclined to give it a (1 out of 5). I was nodding off a bit thoughout (my fault more than the films to be be fair) so may have missed the underlying subtleties. Peter Bradshaw in the Guardian writes “It has a sense of humour to which you must be finely attuned” I suspect if that’s the case I was ever going to tune into it.
On a film roll now, seen two unremarkable (Ang Lee and Johnny To) and two good (Loach and Almodovár) and a few in between, but still looking for a film to really blow me away or fall in love with, maybe it just won’t happen this year. Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds is screening later and you can already feel the anticipation on the Crosisitte. I haven’t been holding out huge hopes for it based on the trailer, but the dailies have been hyping it up and at the press call Quentin announced ”This might be my masterpiece“.
I try to ignore any online reviews (I want to see it with untainted eyes) and spend the rest of the afternoon having lunch on a yacht anchored in the waters just off the Hotel Du Cap seeing if we can spot Quentin, Brad or Angelina having their lunch – seriously the number of paps hanging off the side of the rocks trying to get a photo is crazy, from the boat they look like little insects.
Leaving Cannes harbour
So nice to be away from the hustle bustle of the Crositte and floating in the sea for a few hours, can sort of understand why billionaires buy these things now.
Lunch at sea - Eden Roc in the background
Get back and hear a rumour that an extra screening of Inglorious Basterds has just been added and will be shown 30 minutes after the main premiere starts in the Lumiere at the Bazin next door and sure enough when we get their a reasonable short queue is forming, no one knows for certain if the rumour is true, least the attendants on the door, but as the rumour spreads the queue starts to grow exponentially and then it starts moving, we get in and grab out seats and almost immediately the film starts, huge whoops as “A BAND APART” and the Weinstien’s logo appears on the screen, yes the rumour is true and even bigger cheer when Quentin’s name appears.
I normally get annoyed with people taking pictures of the titles in screenings, but as everyone else seemed to have their camera phones out I joined in for once.
Unfortunately the cheering was more subdued at the end, with pockets of clapping from the audience, but on the whole a sense of disappointment seemed to have filled the air, not that it had been a painful 2 hours and 40 minutes, more that once again Tarrintino hadn’t lived up to the possibly overly high expectations. Will write up my thoughts on this in full over the weekend when I have a bit more time.
Will be interesting to see how much the version screened at Cannes will differ from the final theatrical released version.
In short I enjoyed it, but also had some serious problems with it, it’s certainly a long way from being Tarintino’s “Masterpiece” – for now I’m giving in a fence sitting (3 out of 5)
Watched Cristian Mungiu’s (4 months, 3 weeks) portmanteau Tales From The Golden Age, a very enjoyable set of 5 shorts parodying life in the Ceausescu’s Romainia – my favourites were the The Legend Of The Official Visit and the The Legend Of The Greedy Policeman (3 out of 5)
Cristian Mungiu's Tales From The Golden Age
Caught the 3pm screening of Almodóvar’s Broken Embraces in the Lumiere (4 out of 5) nothing really new in terms of Almodóvar but a great mix of noir and melodrama, intertwining plots and a film within a film.
Theatre Lumière, Cannes
In the evening headed down the beach for an enjoyable evening at the EIFF / Scotish film party
Ginny and Hannah welcome everyone to the Edinburgh Film Festival party
On the beach at EIFF party
Grabbed some dinner in the old town and finished the evening off with some great cocktails over at the Wild Bunch villa.
Caught Johhny To’s new film Vengence (2 out of 5) in the morning, lots of stilted acting and a major plot device that appears out of nowhere which which have most directors laughed out of the cinema. While not really excusable, somehow I managed to suspend my disbelief and just enjoy the action scenes which as always in a To film are stunning.
Watched Ken Loach’s Looking for Eric in the Lumiere (4 out of 5) enjoyable, funny, heartfelt, the ending seems a bit silly and at odds with the rest of the film, but not so much that it ruins it. In short an excellent Ken Loach film which I expect will do particularly well theatrically in the the UK at least. Decide that I’m not going to make the 4pm market screening of Bright Star and instead catch a panel titled “It’s a mad, new media world” at AmPav.
Saw Hierro in the evening - billed as a Spanish psychological horror from the producers of Pan’s Labyrinth and the Orphanage. That “from the producers of..” tag line should have set alarm bells ringing earlier. It’s the story of a lost boy and his mothers attempt to find him. Well shot but it felt more like the work of a competent commercials or music vid director than someone used to working in narrative film. Still trying to decide if it was the lack of plot of just the bad development of it, but it just didn’t work for me. I think the sweeping music every time someone opened a door was the final straw. At it’s best it left me disinterested in the mother and her plight and at others just simply irritated. I’m giving it (1 out of 5). I’m probably being extra harsh on Heirro as the late start to the film and a packed Croisette afterwards meant I missed a third screening of Un Prophet.
Missed ‘A Prophet’ for a second time, decided that waking up at 7am to get in line for the 9am screening after three hours sleep was probably asking too much of even a hardened cinephile.
Instead checked out the midday screening of Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock (2 out of 5) – well enough made and perfectly watchable but felt more like a feel good / coming of age TV movie than something from Ang Lee – in short a easily forgettable film.
Headed off to BFI / LFF drinks on the roof of the Palace Stephanie (still can’t get used to not calling it the Noga / Hilton nor it seems can anyone else)
BFI / LFF reception on the roof of the Palais Stephanie
Left BFI drinks and headed over to Morrison’s Irish pub for the Anvil Party (RAWK DOODZ)
Anvil Stamp
Completely out of the context of normal Cannes (but then what is normal in Cannes apart from overpriced food, drinks and permatans) we got a live set from Anvil, complete with encores enthusiastically cheered on by the crowd.
